Woman loses about $4,000 in lottery scam

An often-used lottery scam worked on a 69-year-old Greeley woman last week and cost her about $4,000, police said in reports released Thursday.

The woman said she was leaving a restaurant in the 3600 block of 10th Street when a woman approached her, speaking Spanish and saying she was from Honduras.

The con artist said she’d won $250,000 in the Colorado Lottery but needed someone from the area to help her get the money. She told the victim she would give her $10,000 if she would withdraw money from her bank to help pay the taxes on the lottery winnings.

The victim told police she cashed her Social Security check, and then withdrew about $4,000. A short time later, in the same parking lot, a Spanish-speaking man joined the two women, “to help” obtain the lottery winnings. He told the victim he was on the telephone with a lottery official, who confirmed they needed the tax money.

The victim had placed her purse, containing the cash, on the floor of her car. A few minutes passed when the woman from Honduras said she was going into a nearby store to buy something to drink. When she didn’t return after a few minutes, the man went to look for her.

After waiting awhile, the victim realized they weren’t coming back. She then checked her purse and discovered the $4,000 in cash was gone.

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She described the woman as about 45 years old, 5-foot-5, 160 pounds, and the man was in his late 50s, 5-foot-1 and 180 pounds.